1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a display case for small personal accessory items such as jewelry, eyeglasses and timepieces presented in a way to attract a customer""s interest.
2. The Related Art
Display containers for small personal accessories come in many varieties. They may possess one or more functionalities. A case must be protective of the item yet allow the potential customer adequate view for examination. The fuller the view the better, especially for an attractive item.
An elegant case often enhances the sale price of the item. Packaging sets the tone for increasing the value of an otherwise ordinary article. Presentation can be a deciding edge in any sale.
Retailers seek to draw-in the customer. An unusual display case, perhaps even an unconventional one, may draw attention. Without grabbing attention, a retailer must depend only on advertising the price to achieve the sale.
Jewelry, eyeglasses and watches generally are sold in uninteresting display packaging. In those instances where a packaging case has an elegant construction, it may not be sufficiently unusual to grab attention.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display case for a personal accessory item which allows a customer an unimpeded view of at least most of the item.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a display case for a personal accessory item which draws attention from potential customers.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a display case for a personal accessory item from which the item can readily be removed and returned without damaging the case.
A display case is provided for a personal accessory item which includes:
a cylindrical outer tube with a round closed end and an open end;
a cylindrical inner tube with a round closed end and an open end nested within the outer tube, a volume of space separating inner from outer tubes;
a display support formed with at least one aperture for vertically suspending the accessory item along at least a partial length of the inner tube, the support being suspended from the open end of the inner tube; and
a cover positioned over the open end of the outer tube.
Illustrative but not limiting of the personal accessory items are jewelry, eyeglasses (particularly sunglasses), and timepieces (particularly wrist watches).
Walls of the outer and inner tubes are light transparent to allow viewing of the personal accessory items. Preferably, the display support is also constructed of a light transparent material thereby allowing a viewer to inspect both front and rear aspects of the displayed item. Light transparent materials of construction may either be glass or plastic, with the latter preferred because of its lighter weight and resistance to breakage. Suitable plastics include polymethylmethacrylate, polyvinylchloride and polyethyleneterephthalate. Construction walls ordinarily are colorless but may also be tinted with a color. Artistic interest may be enhanced through a preferred embodiment which fills with fluid the volume of space between inner and outer tubes. Water is the fluid of choice but could be substituted by organic liquids, including glycols, monohydric alcohols, esters, ketones and any combinations thereof.
An important element of the present invention is that of display support. It includes an anchor plate and a tongue in perpendicular arrangement to one another. The tongue has a surface oriented in a plane parallel to a longitudinal axis that traverses a length of the inner tube. The plane of the tongue surface is eccentrically displaced from a center of the inner tube. A span of the plate is preferably at least as large as a cross-sectional diameter of the inner tube. This allows the plate to be supported by a circumferential lip defining the open end of the inner tube.
A positioning finger projects outwardly from an interior surface of the closed end of the inner tube. The finger serves as an orienting detent allowing the tongue of the display support to be properly positioned within the inner tube.